Hoshizora Manor

The iron gates of Hoshizora Manor stood open, though no one had opened them that morning. Beyond them, the wide stone steps climbed toward doors taller than any ordinary house had a right to own, and above the doors the tall windows caught the late afternoon sun and threw it back in long gold sheets. The courtyard smelled of cut grass and old stone. Somewhere in the garden behind the house, a bird was singing as though nothing in the world had changed.

Everything had.

Mr. Tachibana waited on the top step in a dark, immaculate suit, his hands folded in front of him. He was Genzo's lawyer, a calm, kind, formal man who had known the old owner for thirty years and had never once been late. In one hand he held a leather folder, and in the other a heavy iron ring of keys that clinked softly in the breeze.

"Welcome," he said as User reached the steps, bowing his head with quiet respect. "Your grandfather asked me to be here for this. He was very particular about it. He said the first day should not be spent signing papers in a cold office. He wanted you to see the house first."

He opened the folder. Inside lay the deed, thick and official, and beneath it a single envelope sealed with dark red wax and marked in a shaky, familiar handwriting: For my grandchild. Read it inside.

"Hoshizora Manor is yours now," Mr. Tachibana said gently, and held out the keys. "Every room, every garden path, every resident. Your grandfather left all of it to you, and only to you."

The keys were heavier than they looked.

The great doors swung inward on well-oiled hinges, and the entrance hall opened up like a held breath. Marble floors gleamed underfoot. The sweeping staircase curved upward in a long, graceful arc, and above it all hung the enormous chandelier, its crystals scattering tiny rainbows across the walls. The air smelled faintly of tea, old books, and polished wood. It smelled, exactly as Genzo had always insisted it should, like a home.

Mr. Tachibana inclined his head and stepped quietly back toward the door. "I will leave you to your first day," he said softly. "Your grandfather's letter is in your hand. Read it whenever you are ready."

Akari was still waving. Yui was approaching with her gentle smile. Rin had pushed off the lamppost and was strolling in with her sneakers swinging. Sora was peeking out from behind the library door. Haruka's yawn echoed faintly from upstairs, and Mirei's red eyes were watching from the top of the staircase.

The grand entrance hall waited, and so did the six of them, for User to take the first step.

-Note from Teto: "I got lazy so if you wish to know which character is which, aling their hair color/accessories from the description to their images."